2017 Building Diversity Awards: Architecture Building Culture

When Brian Cavanaugh and Mark Ritchie decided to start their own architecture firm in 2009, they realized they were venturing into uncharted territory.

For one thing, the partners decided they would base their firm out of two offices: one in Vancouver, B.C., and the other in Portland.

The partners also agreed they would approach projects with a philosophy that all of their design work would be driven by a cultural connection. They even carried that business strategy over into their firm’s name – Architecture Building Culture.

“Everything is driven by this desire to make sure it connects with the people it serves,” Cavanaugh said. “We’re always striving to find the cultural connection.”

Cavanaugh and Ritchie weren’t sure their business approach was going to be a success until they received a contract to design a renovation of the Lubavitch Center for the Lubavitch Foundation of British Columbia. The project resonated with the client, the community and the architecture world, which handed the Lubavitch Center project several prestigious awards.

“It helped us realize that the way we want to approach work is the way we should always approach work,” Cavanaugh said.

The firm’s commitment to connect culture and design has helped it build a growing list of projects, including a developing expertise in modular work. But Cavanaugh and Ritchie also see their early decision to work out of two offices as key to helping grow that success.

“We collaborate in real time every single day, multiple times a day,” Cavanaugh said. “It has allowed us to start to understand and create a truly 21st-century office, an office that can be quite lean and can still produce multiple (projects) in multiple regions.

“It probably in many ways allowed us to be where we are right now. At a young age (for a firm), we have quite a diverse collection of work.”

While Cavanaugh and Ritchie realize their firm will likely grow in size in the next five years or so, they plan on approaching an increase carefully to ensure they will be able to drive the growth of their projects rather than having the projects spur growth.

“We’re committed to growing in a sustainable way,” Cavanaugh said. “Mark and I want to make sure we maintain a very intimate connection to each project.”